HYDERABAD: Stating that it has undermined the functioning of urban local bodies, the State Municipal Chairman Chambers (SMCC) has asked Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to revise the Telangana Municipal Act.
At a press conference in Hyderabad on Monday, SMCC chairman Venreddy Raju said several provisions introduced by the previous BRS government had become unworkable and claimed the 2019 Act weakened local governance. He said the state government’s earlier efforts to empower local bodies were diluted in the state and urged the chief minister to “clean up” the law and restore authority to elected representatives.
Raju said that Revanth, having begun his political career in local governance, should ensure that powers of municipal bodies are reinstated through a new, comprehensive framework. He criticised the previous government for “making a mockery” of local bodies and said the 2019 law shifted control to officials and district collectors, leaving elected councils without real decision-making power.
Raju suggested that municipal supervision be moved from district collectors to the commissioner and director of Municipal Administration and asked that Telangana adopt governance models followed in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.